TURNING GREAT

STRATEGY INTO GREAT

PERFORMANCE

Turning Great Strategy into Great

Performance
Crux of the article:

Most companies strategies deliver only 63% of their

promised financial value. Why? Leaders press for better
execution when they really need a sounder strategy. Or
they craft a new strategy when execution is the true weak
point
How to avoid these errors? View strategic planning and
execution as inextricably linked then raise the bar for
both simultaneously. Start by applying seven deceptively
straightforward rules, including keeping your strategy
simple and concrete, making resources-allocation decision
early in the planning process, and continuously monitoring
performance as you roll out your strategic plan
By following these rules, you reduce the likelihood of
performance shortfalls. And even if your strategy still
stumbles, you quickly determine whether the fault lies
with the strategy itself, you plan for pursuing it, or the
execution process. The payoff? You make the right
midcourse corrections-promptly.

The Strategy to Performance

Gap.

Companies rarely track performance against long term plan

Multiyear results rarely meet projections
A lot of value is lost in translation
Performance bottlenecks are frequently invisible to top management
The strategy to performance gap fosters a culture of underperformance

Closing the Strategy-toPerformance Gap

Rule
1

Keep it Simple, Make it Concrete.

Avoid long, drawn out descriptions of lofty goals and instead stick
to clear language describing what your company will and wont
do.

..cont.
Rule
2

Debate Assumptions, Not forecasts.

Create cross-functional teams drawn from strategy, marketing, and
finance to ensure the assumptions underlying your long term plans
reflect both real economics of your companys markets and its actual
performance relative to competitors.

...cont.
Rule
3
Use a Rigorous Framework, Speak a Common
language.
Ensure that the dialogue between the corporate center and the
business units about market trends and assumptions is conducted
within a rigorous framework, such as that of profit pools.

..cont.
Rule
4
Discuss Resource Deployments early.
Create more realistic forecasts and more executable plans by
discussing up front the level and timing of critical deployments

Rule
5 Identify Priorities.
Clearly
Prioritize tactics so that employees have a
clear sense of where to direct their efforts.

..cont.
Rule
6

Continuously Monitor Performance.

Track resource development and results against plan, using
continuous feedback to reset assumptions and reallocate resources.

..cont.
Rule
7

Reward and develop execution capabilities.

Motivate and develop staff so as to create a culture of overperformance within the entire organization.

As a Manager what should be

done..1..
These critical questions are to be dwelled upon
Are managers within the organization able to articulate how
their employees goals
directly link to the organization's priorities
Do managers within the organization support employees though
the goal setting process

Cont

Goal setting outcome

As a Manager what should be

done..2..
These critical questions are to be dwelled upon as well..

Do managers think that development is just about sending employees on training

courses
Do managers understand the difference between a performance discussion and a

development discussion
Are all employees clear on the steps they need to take to be ready for their next
role

Successful development should Involve:

Conclusion
The prize for closing the strategy to performance gap is huge- an increase
in performance of anywhere from 60% to 100% for most companies.
Companies that create tight link between their strategies, their plans, and
ultimately, their performance often experience a cultural multiplier effect.
Over time as they turn their strategies into great performance, leaders in
these organizations become:
Much more confident in their own capabilities and
Much more willing to make the stretch commitments that inspire and
transform large
companies
Individual Managers:
Who keep their commitments are rewarded with faster progression and
fatter paychecks